May 18, 2011
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Boys Tennis
Davidson’s Blackstone advances By PAUL BATTERSON ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Eric George/ThisWeek
Davidson’s Kevin Blackstone qualified for the Division I district tournament, which begins Friday, May 20, at Davidson, by placing fourth in the home sectional May 14. He lost to Worthington Kilbourne’s Brian Aguirre 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 in the third-place match.
Senior Kevin Blackstone of the Hilliard Davidson High School boys tennis team wasn’t just concerned about his opponents in the Division I sectional tournament on May 12 at Davidson. Diagnosed as a diabetic at age 5, he also was concerned about his blood sugar levels and closely monitored them throughout his matches. “On a hot day like today, I have to keep testing my blood sugar. I think I’ve tested it about 20 times today,” Blackstone said. “When my blood sugar is dropping, I don’t have enough energy to do anything. So I go into matches with my blood sugar a little higher than I am comfortable with.” Blackstone placed fourth in singles at the sectional, which concluded May 14. He lost to Dublin Jerome’s Frank Kuo 6-4, 6-1 in a semifinal and lost to Worthington Kilbourne’s Brian Aguirre 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 in the consolation final. Blackstone will represent the Hilliard school district at the district tournament Friday, May 20, and Saturday, May 21, at Davidson, as no other Wildcats advanced out of the sectional and no players for Hilliard Darby and Hilliard Bradley advanced out of the sectional at Darby. The top four finishers in singles and doubles at sectional advanced to district, and the top four finishers at district qualify for the state tournament, which will be held May 27-28 at Davidson. Wildcats coach Shawn Walton said Blackstone has not let diabetes slow him down. “We’ve had some moments (in the past) where his blood sugar
At a glance
Below are the recent results and coming schedule for the Davidson boys tennis team: May 10 — Defeated Pickerington North 3-2 May 11 — Lost to DeSales 4-1 May 12, 14 — Competed in Division I sectional tournament at home. Kevin Blackstone placed fourth in singles. May 20-21 — District tournament at home Of note: The Wildcats are 7-9 overall and finished 3-4 in the OCC-Central.
has gotten really low. It’s pretty scary to watch that,” Walton said. “As he matured, he’s been able to handle it better. Tennis means a lot to him and he’s always been able to manage it.” To advance to district, Blackstone said he had to find some consistency in his game. “Throughout this season, I was really inconsistent. Finally in this tournament, I was able to put together what I needed,” he said. “I was doing exactly what I wanted to do with the ball. All I have to do is play (at district) like I did today and I’ll be fine.” Also competing in singles at sectional for Davidson were junior Spencer Walter, who lost to Aguirre 7-5, 7-6 in the qualifying round, and sophomore Joe Justus, who lost to Kilbourne’s Jack Klein 6-0, 6-2 in the second round. In doubles, junior Pat Holland and sophomore Michael Porter lost to Kilbourne’s Sam Lazaroff and Roger Juang 6-3, 6-2 in the qualifying round. See TENNIS, page B3
Softball
Bradley again moves on to district semi By BRAD EMERINE ThisWeek Community Newspapers Every new season is greeted with optimism from athletes and coaches. That was definitely the case for the Hilliard Bradley High School softball team. Despite not having any seniors, the Jaguars finished 20-6 overall and captured the OCC-Capital Division championship in their first season a year ago. “You go into every season with optimism because you feel like you can do some things,” coach Kevin Moody said. “But this was a unique situation, being able to bring back every girl who wanted to return. “With the success we had last season when we had girls formerly from different schools, I think everyone just anticipated this being a very good season for us.” The Jaguars had lived up to their expectations entering a Division II district semifinal against Buckeye Val-
At a glance
Below are the recent results and coming schedule for the Bradley softball team: May 10 — Game against Ready suspended by rain tied at 4 in 10th inning May 11 — Defeated Mifflin 12-0 in second round of Division II district tournament *May 13 — Def. New Albany 12-0 May 14 — Def. Darby 12-3 May 18 — Played Buckeye Valley in district semifinal. Winner played top-seeded DeSales or Big Walnut in district final TBA. District winner plays New Concord John Glenn or Richmond Edison in regional semifinal May 25 at Pickerington Central. Of note: The Jaguars were 18-3 overall before May 18 and finished 11-3 in the OCCCapital. They were seeded third for the district tournament and had first-round bye. *OCC-Capital game
ley on May 18. As the third seed in the tournament, they were 18-3 overall entering the semifinal and were hoping to earn a rematch against top-
By Steve Friend/ThisWeek
Bradley’s Kellie Roudabush takes a throw at third base as Mifflin’s Indiah Shanks slides in safely on May 11 in the second round of the Division II tournament. The Jaguars won 12-0.
seeded DeSales, which played Big Walnut in the other semifinal May 18. The district final is May 19 at Pickerington Central. Last season, the Jaguars lost to the Stallions 3-1 in a district semifinal. “I’m very pleased with the way
we’ve been playing,” Moody said. “Kellie Roudabush and Tayler Young have been pitching very well and our hitters have been doing a fantastic job putting the ball in play and making things happen lately. “Every part of the order has been
doing its job, from our set-the-table batters, to our run producers. They’re all showing great poise and discipline and have been very focused on pitch selection.” See SOFTBALL, page B3
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